Tragic Hero
by Alien Emerald
Summary: She was a tragic hero. But a true hero? She was anything but. But she wasn't a tragic villain, either, because she wasn't tragic enough. She faught until the villains screamed for mercy, then she ran away. She couldn't fight back...not even for her life.
1. Tragic

**Tragic Hero**

**She was the tragic hero. She was the one who could never make things right in the world, because she was the only one who ever felt pity for the bad guys. But she wasn't a tragic villain, either, because she wasn't tragic enough. She could never be a tragic villain; she wished pain upon no one. She fought on the hero side until things went wrong, then she left and flew away until they found her again and told her it was their fault they lost.**

**Ok, I'm sure you're all expecting something else to be updated… Like Stir. But I absolutely HAD to write this. I have the most perfect plan for it, and Starfire being the main character makes everything perfect.**

**This story is mainly about pity. Starfire was imprisoned and beat up and raped when she was at her home, and she never wished anyone to have to deal with what she had gone through. So, that's why she was a hero. Until she fought someone for a true reason, for hurting her, and couldn't take the fact that she had been a villain for a moment. She was the tragic hero…not the tragic villain.**

**Thanks so much to A B Lewis and Harry Potter Fan 1994 for the inspiration!**

**XX**

They were coming….

People had been screaming it beside the doors of their homes for hours, until they were hoarse, shouting it at her father and begging him to protect them from the invasion. They all knew that, come the time, they would be completely destroyed. The Tameranians had no army to speak of, no defense and no sort of protection against the aliens that were about to invade their home. Her father was at his end, simply sitting with his head in his hands while his two daughters stared at him with pity. They, too, were scared.

"What do I do?" the king said. His two daughters continued to stare, not ready to give an answer yet. "They're going to kill us…."

"Father…," Koriand'r said, who was the youngest of the daughters, with flaming red hair that went down to her back and bright green eyes that were filled with tears. "Is there anything that can stop their advance?"

"Don't be stupid," Komand'r said, who was the oldest with black hair and purple eyes that were harsh and stern. She was the strongest of them all, and she had no patience for tears. "We have no army, Father knows that, and so do the people. There is nothing that can save us from death."

Koriand'r was about to speak, but her father suddenly looked very ill. His face was white, his eyes shocked and madly obsessed at the same time. Both of the girls stared.

"There is something…," the king said. "There is!"

Both girls looked delighted. "What is it father?"

"We…we make a peace offering! We offer them something of ours…something to get them to leave, and then we will be free again!" he yelled.

"What will we give them, Father?" asked Komand'r, eyeing him warily.

"I am going to send the guard to their home planet. He will ask them what they would like of ours. And that will be that. We'll give it to them."

"But, Father—" began Koriand'r, but the king had already left to go alert the guard.

It was only a while later that a ship landed on their planet. People began to frenzy, running in circles and carrying swords in defense. The king silenced them, telling them that the ship was here to make a deal. All was well.

Both daughters came with their father to the ship. They both looked frantic and nervous, one more than the other, and tried very hard to hide themselves from site. The door to the ship opened, and out stepped the king of the alien planet, whose green body was wrapped in fine red cloth. "I am not here to agree to your peace offering. I am here to see what you have to offer, and no more. If it pleases me, I will leave your home untouched. If it does not…."

The King of Tamaran coughed. "I am here to offer you what you wish, so come and tour our home and pick anything you like."

But the king of the alien planet was eyeing Koriand'r now. He paid no attention to the man speaking. Of course, the man speaking was paying immense attention to what the alien was doing: he was eyeing his daughter.

"No, please sir," pleaded the king, "anything but my daughter's."

"I just want the red one. Nothing else. Without her, your home will be demolished," said the alien.

The father and king said nothing when the alien grabbed Koriand'r by her long red hair and dragged her onto the ship. Her screams were so violent she could feel her throat begin to rip. No one paid any attention. They turned, and walked away. Their home was saved. All was well.

As the ship left Tamaran, the alien king slapped Koriand'r so hard she felt her cheek begin to bleed under its skin. The alien spoke his words looking directly into her eyes: "You, my dear, please me very much. But not enough to leave your home undamaged."

As the ship flew away, a giant red laser crashed into Tamaran, and all was lost with the screams of the people. Koriand'r screamed the loudest she'd ever screamed in her life.

Then Starfire woke up, sweating and shaking with rage and horror. It was so real this time…she had actually believed to be back on her home planet. It was her worst nightmare relived, every night for her whole life. There was not a time that she did not wake up screaming. But, there were times when no one came to her rescue. This was that time. She was alone.

In the morning, when she woke up for breakfast, she was smiling and laughing along with everyone else. They didn't know anything, and she was glad. She saw no reason to make them know what she did.

**So, how was it? I'm not sure when I'll update. I'm going to write more Stir right now.**

**Review!**

**-Alien**


	2. Hero

**Tragic Hero 2**

**Here's chapter two! Thanks to my reviewers: ****contagiousCHRISTian****, Tiffany, and ****D-I-WaRrIa****. The only three… Sniffle.**

**XX**

The alarm bell rang just as they were finishing breakfast. Robin swore, and Cyborg looked sadly at his unfinished bacon. Raven checked the computer screen.

"There's been an attack in east downtown," she read aloud. "A bank's being robbed, and…there's a hostage."

Starfire flinched at the word 'hostage.' She hated that sort of crime more than any other villain committed. She knew what it felt like, being helpless. She knew…. But she stopped thinking about it. She refused to let it get to her during the daylight hours, when her friends were constantly looking out for her. She had enough trouble with it during the night time.

"I say we attack from the north, through the back of the bank," said Robin, who was tracing his finger along the computer screen, drawing a red line from the tower, around the bank, and through the back.

Everyone nodded, even though he didn't see it. He didn't need their approval, though, because he was their leader, and he made the choices. Starfire had always disapproved of this; she believed everyone's opinion mattered. No one else seemed to care.

"Titans, Go!" shouted Robin, and they all left the tower in one swift movement: Robin on his R-cycle, Cyborg being carried by the pterodactyl Beast Boy, and Raven flying along side Starfire. Keeping equal speed with each other, they kept together until they rounded the back of the bank.

"Starfire," began Robin, "you go around the front, on top of the roof. Hit him in the back when he's not looking, and be careful not to hurt the hostage. Raven, you'll go around the front and get the hostage. The rest of us will join to get the crook."

Everyone nodded, again not seeing a reason to disagree. Starfire flew up onto the roof, turning just for a fraction of a second to watch them all staring at her. It made her squirm…she didn't like the feeling of them depending on her. That was Robin's job, not hers. She was the weak one, and they knew it.

The thought made her angry. She _wasn't _weak; in fact, she was the strongest and most powerful of them all. She could lift things ten times heavier than Cyborg, fly at the speed of light (which Beast Boy would never dream about), shoot more powerful bolts that Raven, and even beat Robin in combat occasionally. She was all of them put together, and more. So why did they treat her like a little kid?

The man who had robbed the bank had robbed it recently, because there were no police cars except for a local sheriff, and only a couple dozen bystanders. The man was dressed in black, like most did, but Starfire could not see the rest of him. His belt was equipped with over 20 different kinds of weapons. A gun was pointed to a teenage girls face; she was shaking violently.

Starfire watched, feeling helpless for some reason. If she attacked…he might shoot. She wanted to make a deal with him, maybe, but something told her that he would do what he was planning anyways. A dozen or so money bags lay at his feet; it looked like he was doing it by himself. Surely he had helpers?

A woman in the crowd began to cry, and Starfire saw exactly why. The man was pressing the gun to her breast now, while his hand crept down the back of her jeans. Whatever was going on in front must have been just as bad as what Starfire was seeing; he was violating her.

Starfire suddenly didn't feel so helpless. Her fury doubled tenfold, and it took no time at all for her to zoom into his back, knocking him off his feet and the gun out of his hands. She held him down on the pavement, cold eyes staring at her, and immediately froze: the crook was Red X.

"Miss me, cutie?" he said, completely unfazed by her attack. Starfire saw Raven zoom by her, picking up the frozen teen and taking her to her crying mother.

"No." She wanted to do so many horrible things to him; it was one thing to rob, but another thing to contravene someone. She was gripping his skin so hard she could feel warm wet fluid, which she was sure was blood, begin to seep from his chest.

"Mad about the poor girl? Feel sorry for her?" he said, smiling through his mask. Starfire held him tighter, and felt her hands begin to burn holes in his chest from her star bolts. Fury was welling inside her. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I do that to everyone."

That did it. She pulled him to his feet, and while he reached for a weapon she punched his stomach, and kicked away every weapon he tried to grab. She kicked his leg and broke his arm, and she was sure she broke his collarbone at some point. She was intent on killing him, intent on torturing him, and she probably would have unless Cyborg had grabbed her and pulled her away.

Red X was bloody and broken on the cement ground outside the bank, his money bags turned red with his blood. All of the witnesses had either left or turned away; it was too gruesome for them. She didn't care though, as long as he was hurt. She didn't care if she went to jail.

No one deserved to be touched like that girl was.

XX


	3. I'm

**Tragic Hero 3**

**Ahhh… I've been doing so much Spanish lately I actually started writing this chapter in Spanish…. Not something I usually do, as I'm not the smartest…um…orange…. What's the saying?**

**Ah, well, here's another chapter. Um…yeah, that. Bye.**

**Oh! Wait, I forgot to say the most important thing of all! Yes, even more important than…um…oranges.**

**Thanks to all my wonderfully perfectly awesome reviewers/fans: Tiffany, Erifrats101, ****Eve Royal****, ****D-I-WaRrIa****, ****contagiousCHRISTian****, and ****PrincessOfHeartsNYP****.**

**I love you so very much! Keep up the reviews!**

**XX**

Simply because she could, Starfire was laying on her bed, alone and not burdened by her clouding thoughts. She wished she could stay that way forever, because she wasn't dreaming, which meant no screams, and she wasn't thinking, which meant no tears. That sort of numbness was the only kind of bliss she seemed to have those days; everything else caused her some kind of pain.

Her ceiling was a light purple. She remembered when she and Robin had painted it together. She would fly in circles, carrying a dripping purple brush, and he would wait patiently for her to come and help him fly. It was so much fun flying together, she had even asked him to fly with her that night out at sunset….

He took her arms as she did the same with him, and they jumped off the roof. He yelled and whooped as they fell down towards the hard rocks and dirt, and as his bare foot brushed the rock (she had asked him to take his shoes and socks off), she pulled up, flying just because of the situation they were in: in love, in the air, and laughing until it hurt.

She smiled on her bed. Nothing could ever make her cry when she was dreaming so vividly like this, not when she was happy watching the memory just sitting there. No bad dreams could make her flinch, because she was in love, in the air, and laughing until it hurt.

Her chest heaved painfully, and her eyes began to ache because her eyes were too dry to make anything come out. She felt like a poem.

XX

"Starfire?"

Her hand immediately covered her mouth to keep from screaming. It took only two seconds to realize that there was no danger, but her hand was already bleeding before she stopped biting it.

"Cyborg?" she asked the door.

"And Beastboy!!!" yelled another small voice from behind the door. Both voices laughed.

She smiled as she went to open the door. Two young men were standing before her, both dressed in very cheesy imitation suits, and one carrying a large scroll. Being Starfire, and living with the two biggest pranksters in Jump City, this was not unusual…until they spoke.

"Sir Robin has formally invited you to attend an evening ball with him. He says to wear your best clothes and to show up in the kitchen at 6 this evening."

Her heart leapt, and even though she had not understood most of what the two goof balls had said, she knew she was to go on a date with Robin. This would be her very first date with him (with anybody), and she was already planning the evening in her head. He would twirl her on the dance floor, kiss her, fly with her….

"Wait," she said, just as the two boys were leaving in a soldier march. "It is a dance?"

"Um…," began Beastboy, scratching his neck, "well, no, not really. We just thought it be more fancy if we said that."

Starfire looked confused.

"It's a date, Star," Cyborg explained. "You're just going to a restaurant."

Starfire smiled and waved them off. If it was a date, then she was going to be the most beautiful girl in all of Jump City. She could not look anything close to _simple. _

XX

Starfire stared at herself in the mirror. She was wearing high red heels that were probably the biggest downside to her outfit, although there weren't visible under her dress. Her dress was made of pure silk, all a velvety crimson, with a large bow in the back and diamond studded v-shaped strap that went from the middle of her chest and around her neck. It was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen, and she was almost sure there was no other like it. She had no jewelry besides two large diamond-dangling earrings, and a ruby butterfly hair piece that held her hair up in a poised bun atop her head.

_I am the most beautiful girl in Jump City._

Her makeup was the most she had ever put on: she didn't wear any cover up, but she had large amount of blush that made her cheekbones stand out almost unnaturally, but beautifully nonetheless. She had put over six shades of emerald green eyeshadow on her eyes, ranging from almost black to the lightest green. It was a small space to put it all, but each of the colors were clearly visible and made it almost impossible to look away from her eyes, even with the radiant dress.

_I am the most beautiful girl in this state._

She was confident in ever corner of her perfection. If this night was not perfect, she was sure nothing else could ever be. If it was perfect, then maybe, just maybe, she would be able to smile permanently.

_I am the most beautiful girl in America. _

XX

"Starfire," said Robin, "how did you make you're eyes do that?"

"Do what?" she asked. He had a confused look on his face, almost like he was trying to figure out a puzzle. "You mean glitter?"

He nodded.

She laughed aloud. It felt oddly out of place in the hostile and calm room. "It's just that, Robin! It's glitter!"

He choked out a strangled laugh, and then went back to watching her with an adoring sort of look. "Oh," he said, "it looks nice."

She stared at the candle, afraid to look into his eyes, and he stared fearlessly into her own eyes. They had not said a word to each other besides the occasional question and one-word answer, or his compliment on how she looked, but she liked it better as such. It was easier to think and breathe at the same time.

Robin had brought them to the fanciest restaurant in all of Jump City, and the 7th nicest in America. It just so happened that Starfire was almost underdressed; everyone else had at least a pound of makeup and ten pounds of jewelry. Even though Starfire's dress outdid everyone's, and she was just about the most beautiful girl in the room at that moment, she felt very cheap. Everything there was expensive, even the table cloths, and she felt guilty.

Despite her mood, there was almost no one in the room that had not looked at her. Even the people facing opposite of her couldn't help but turn and stare; she was like a magnetic glow, and the most beautiful anyone had seen. Robin had almost had a heart-attack when he first saw her at the tower.

"So," said Robin, and for once it did not sound like a compliment or silly question, "what would you like to order?"

She snapped out of her reverie, realizing for once that they had actually come here to eat something. She picked up her menu, reveling at how heavy it was, and opened the pages.

She almost fell over; the food was more expensive than her dress.

XX

"Robin," said Starfire, looking into his eyes with utmost sincerity, "this was wonderful. Thank you so much."

He smiled brightly, and grabbed her hand across the table, rubbing her fingers affectionately.

"How touching," said a man. Both Robin and Starfire flinched; it was like nails over a chalkboard.

For a moment, she didn't believe it. For a moment, she thought it might just be a dream gone horrible wrong. For a moment, even if it was real, she hoped that he wasn't there for them.

Then Slade grabbed her throat and the whole room went still. She didn't fight back, and for whatever reason it wasn't clear to her. He dragged her out the door, Robin too shocked to even lift his hand from the spot where she had left it.

**XX**

**Oooh, cliff hanger! Sorry guys, but I just felt like leaving it here. The next chapter will be very interesting…. It only gets better from here!!!**

**Review, review, review!!**

**~Chloe**


	4. anything but tragic

**Since I only got THREE reviews, I'm not thanking too many people…. That's kind of disappointing. But thank you so much to the people who did review! I'm really grateful.**

**XX**

When the other titans finally broke down the door, she didn't notice. She never heard them yelling, never saw them looking at her in awe. She was too busy, too far into what she was doing to notice anything but him, beneath her fingers and feet, feeling his bones crush and skin break. It was all that mattered…she could care less about what they thought, what anybody thought, as long as she got revenge.

He had been touching her, running his dirty hands across her face and down every inch of her shivering body. She couldn't do anything; she was drugged too powerfully. His rusted fingers were all she could feel, all she could see. Every inch of her body was vibrating violently, trying to fight what was not there. Now…all she could do was fight. All she could do was what she felt was the most important thing in the world: to kill him.

"Starfire!" the titans shouted. She didn't need them here, she knew. She had this under control.

"Starfire!" one of them shouted, pleading. "Starfire, please stop! You're killing him!"

The words couldn't have meant less. She wanted him dead, wanted him for what he'd done to her, what he had probably done to so many. She had convinced herself that what she was doing was right. She was teaching him a lesson, and one he wouldn't ever forget.

"No!" she heard Robin scream, this time in elation rather than fear. "She's finally caught him! We HAVE him!"

She looked down for the first time. Beneath her fingernails was blood and skin. Beneath her hands was a man, so bruised and beaten he was no longer a man anymore. His face was burnt black, his hands crippled, and his body twisted and contorted in what was not a human way. He shouldn't look like this…he shouldn't be bleeding and crying. Somewhere, deep in her mind, she knew this.

All she could feel, for the moment, was her breath coming in rapid gasps. The drug, she told herself, was making her lose control. She couldn't feel anything else.

"Starfire…please."

That's when it hit her, like a wrecking ball, that this wasn't right. She could feel the dead skin and blood on her hands like heavy weights. She could feel her eyes feasting upon the dying man like he was food, like this was a pleasure to have. It was not right at all…she had become what she set out to destroy.

Then, everything went numb, and she was backing away, watching the crumpled man begin to disappear. Or had he really gone, completely unharmed? She didn't see, because she was already gone, flying away, while the voices of the other titans whispered, unbelieving.

XX

She was underwater, then up high in the golden sunset, and then deep under the ocean once more. Dripping with guilt and salt water, she flew so fast it almost hurt. It felt nice though, because it almost felt like she could feel the dirt being scrubbed away as the air whipped her. She could feel his blood leaving her skin, but she could not get rid of the most horrible feeling she had ever had.

She was one of _them. _She was a villain named Starfire, one who had once been good and clean and kind. Somehow, she had lost all of that. There was not a clean bone left in her body. She had turned them all black and red.

Was she truly evil? Was she really a bad person, as bad as the villains that roamed the dark? She told herself yes, but she could not help having some sort of hope that she wasn't.

XX

When no one would speak to her at home (or was it really home?), she knew it was because they had seen her commit a crime. They had watched her kill an innocent person…and they didn't think she deserved to live the life of a hero. She couldn't help but agree with them. She was a horrible person, and she would never blame them for kicking her off the team.

When they didn't send her away, she went to her room and cried. Her skin was raw from trying to scrub away the dirt, and her chest was heaving with grief and hurt, trying to throw away whatever didn't belong.

Then it hit her: she didn't belong.

She didn't even register when her window opened, or when a finger ran along her face. She didn't deserve to fight back. She was already black enough.

XX

**Very confusing chapter, I guess. Anyways, Starfire was violated by Slade (sort of) and she almost killed him trying to fight back. When she realized what she had done, she let him go (the titans were mad because she let the worse villain ever get away). She thinks she's too bad now to be a hero, so when someone comes to her room at night to get revenge, she refuses to fight back.**

**Review please!**

**-Alien**


	5. Villain?

**Please forgive me for the slow update. My life has been total chaos right now. I'm currently getting ready for next year (studying and all) when I'm going to apply for one of the top high schools. I pray they'll let me in. **

**I'm also working on a book. Not a book that any of you will ever read (sorry!), but a book that I'm looking to get published. This comes first, before fanfiction. Sorry.**

**Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! Only two chapters left!**

**XX**

"What do you think is wrong with her?"

Everyone stared at Robin, but no one was able to answer his question. None of them had a clue.

"She doesn't look _too _bad," said Beastboy. "I mean, maybe she just has a nasty cold."

"Yeah," agreed Cyborg. "We haven't seen the girl in weeks…maybe she's all better."

As if to prove him wrong, as if to make everyone wrong, Starfire came out of the hallway looking worse than ever. She could feel all eyes on her, and smiled hopefully towards them. She didn't want anyone to care.

Her face had caved in from weeks without food. Her limbs were thin and pointed, her face chalk white. Her eyes had never seemed more prominent, sticking out of the edge of her cheekbones, showing more than just an ill girl.

But because no one thought to look, her eyes weren't read like they should have been. Had they read them, they would have found all the answers they were looking for.

Everyone immediately rushed to her side, ready to catch her if she fell. She looked too unstable to stand.

"Starfire!" said Raven. "Star, we need to get you to a hospital. Now."

Everyone stared at Raven.

"I can't heal these wounds. They're internal, not external."

Starfire began to whimper and everyone let go at once, afraid they were hurting her. She said quietly that she didn't want to go to a hospital, and turned and walked back to her room.

XX


	6. I'm not tragic enough

"Starfire?"

"Starfire, are you in there?"

"I want to talk to you."

"Can you please let me in?"

"You…you don't look well. Are you sick?"

"We can hire a doctor, if you don't want to leave the house."

"Please, Star, I'm worried for you."

"Can I please just come in?"

The door opened to a room that Robin knew nothing of. He had seen her room before, neat and tidy and smelling of perfume, but it was no longer here.

The room still smelled like her, like perfume of roses and cherries, but there was no floor anymore. There was shattered glass from the window, pieces of her mirror lying on the floor. There were curtains on her bed, ripped and shredded, her comforter lying on the ground with its stuffing falling out.

"Star!" yelled Robin, running to her side. She sat motionless on her bed, eyes open, staring into the wall.

"Robin?" she asked him like a blind person would, with no sense of meaning or recognition. "Robin, don't you think I'm horrible?"

"Why would I think that?"

"I almost killed him…." she whispered.

"Killed who?"

"That man…Slade," she said.

"You almost caught him, Star! He got just what he deserved. Don't be afraid of what you did. Be proud."

Her eyes turned on him like fire, alive with fury and rage. Her face was sullen, her body relaxed, but she could have killed with her eyes alone.

Robin took no notice of her eyes. He was just as blind as she was.

"I'm not a hero," said Starfire. "I'm not a hero."

"Of course you are!" said Robin. "Look how many villains you've put in jail!"

"But I'm not a villain, either."

"Of course not!" said Robin. He was beginning to lose the conversation. Was she just talking to herself?

"Because I'm not tragic enough."

She closed her eyes, dropping her words on him like a wrecking ball. He walked out of the room to meet the other titans who were on the other side of the door.

"I think we've lost her."

They heard a muffled scream come from her room. They averted their eyes, just like the past month, and described her crying as only a bad dream.

It was nothing close.

XX

**The end! Starfire was being raped, alone in her room, and no one cared.**

**Here's he poem I based the story off of:**

I'd call myself a tragic hero  
But hero? I'm anything but.  
And I'm not a tragic villain  
Because I'm not tragic enough.


End file.
